The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it may be described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present technology.
Minivan-type vehicles commonly have a pair of pivoting front occupant doors and at least one rear occupant sliding door. In various instances, users may approach a vehicle with their hands occupied, for example, carrying groceries or carrying a young child. Manual “grip” type handles commonly used with most vehicles are not necessarily operable without a relatively strong grip and pull, which may be difficult if one's hands are not otherwise free. Thus, it would be desirable to have a door handle that is easy to operate with a gentle push or depression of one or two fingers. However, the automatic opening and closing of a vehicle door may need additional safety features.
Various safety designs and considerations may take into account an assumption that vehicle doors are typically closed during a collision or impact. Thus, if the sliding door on a vehicle is unlatched or opened during a side impact, energy may not be as effectively dissipated as desired through the vehicle's body and frame, and overall crash worthiness may be reduced. In this regard, if a vehicle is involved in a collision or impact, it may not be safe to open the door, which may result to damage to the door or other parts of the vehicle. Accordingly, there remains a need for an improved safety considerations to minimize the ability of a handle assembly to cause a door to open during an impact event, after an impact event, or in other emergency situations or other similar instances when a powered door should not be available for use.